Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-01-20
NEW FINDS AT POMPEIl.
A street OF TOmbs and their In.
teresting Contents.

revealed the existence OF the ancient
city of Herculaneum beneath the mod.
ern towns of Resina and Portiei. The
same operation on the part of the owner
of vineyard situated some distance to
the east of the amphitheatre of Pompeii
led to the discovery about six weeks ago
of street OF tombs running in direct
line from Pompeii to Nocera. Taking
the advantage of visit from an archeo.
logical friend of mine, who had Just
returned from scientific tour to Perga.
mon, yesterday accompanied him and
Professor Sagliano. director of the exca-
vations, to visit the newly discovered
ruins.
The little space at present dug out has
brought to light, deep below the surface
of the ground, tolerably wide and
well made ancient road, of a kind of
macadam construction, slightly arched
in the center so as to allow the rain
water to run off, aud with low earthly
bank on either side, on the top of which
are the tombs recently excavated, four
on one side and three on the other.
The road runs nearly due east in
the direction from Pompeii to Nocera,
the portion now eXcavated lying 1000
feet frsm Pompeian Amphitheatre, and
it is supposed that when it is all exca.
waited back to pompeii, a city gate will
be found at its commencement. Il is
also not improbable that near the city it
will be found to be paved with lava,
like the celebrated street of tombs on
found to be closely lined with tombs as
is the portion laid BARE it will be one of
the most important discoveries lately
made in this part of the world. I'm
fortunately money, is wanted, and the
excavation is going on but slowly. The
ancient level of the street being here
very low, the road is first covered to the
depth of ten or fifteen feet with pumace
elected from Vesuvius during the great
eruption of 1872. Then comes thin
layer of ashes; then again a stratum of
pumice about ten inches thick, another
line of ashes, and over all earth several
feet deep. just below this upper earth
were found seven large statues which
had evidently surmounted the tombs be.
meath. On the road itself can be
seen the slight depression or ruts
caused by the wheels of passing
vehicles. The tombs are erected in
straight line on either side, and
where one is set rather back it has q
low stone balustrade, which keeps the
line and extends beyond the tomb, prob
ably inclosing a space purchased for
subsequent tombs, and then the next
tomb is again built forward on the
original line. Thus the little portion OF
excavated street has a neat and SYM
metrical appearance. The four best
preserved tombs lie on the north side of
the road, and are pretty much of the
same general size, though each has a
different arrangement OF architecture.
They are separated from each other by
about a foot and half; they are all
built of alternate layers of brick and
lime and covered with stucco, while
some of the pillars and pilasters are of
tuffstone, with Corinthian or Ionic capi-
tails. Some of the tombs have vault
beneath, and all are provided with
inches for the reception of the cinerary
urns. They very much remind one of
the little chapels in modern Catholic
cemetery, such as the Naples Campo
Sante. The first tomb exeavated, being
the one nearest to Pompeii, on the north
side of the road, is covered with rude
inscriptions painted in red, one of which
is notable; 1T is an advertisement ap.
prising the passers.by that a runaway
horse has boen found of such size and
color, and that the owner may have
it by applying to a smith from
| Nocera, at the bridge over
the Sarno towards Stabia. In fact such
Inscriptions are found on all the tombs.
which have evidently served as public
newspaper on the thickly frequented
roads. There are besides many graph.
ties. One person has scratched his
name with the word Remember
beneath. In one the letter V in very
interesting from the fact that it is
marked with dot in the fork of the V,
which is reminiscence OF the Oscan
character, causing the V to be pro-
nounced more like o. Nearly all the
rudely traced inscriptions (which, oi
course, have nothing to do with the
true inscriptions on marble slabs that
denote the name and qualities of the
deceased) relate TO Nocera, showing the
influence of that neighboring town on
Pompeii. One of the marble inscrip.
tions gives to Nocera the surname oi
| Constantia, in relation to its faithfulness
"a surname, believe, seen here in this
connection for the first time. One of
the tombs has been sum ounted on its
four corners with stone pineopples, in Or
est,ng, as suggestive of this style
of decoration as noticed in the
imme nse single pineapple said to have
crowned Hadrian's tomb in Rome. l,
is curious that in the inches of one oil
the tombs stand two small headstones
Instead of urns.
The statues. cinerary urns, loose mar
BILE tablets, skulls and bones have been
deposited in the room of a country cot.
tage hard by, all except one statue,
which lies prone on the gronnd near the
excavation and serves, by a string passed
round its neck, to hold fast the end of a
ragged canvas stretched on q small tree
as shelter from the sun-a menial
office to which, no doubt, the man who
was of sufficient consideration to have a
statue never dreamed that his effigy
would be degraded. The full length
statues are all portraits, and evidently
very good ones, for each of the faces is
highly characteristics. One elderly
male figure has a fine head and the
mouth of an orator; another is hand
some young man of Grecian type; one is
dignified old woman, grave with years
and honors, with deep lines at the cor
ners Of the very peculiar and firmly
pressed lips, and style of dressing the
hair which reminds one of the statues
of Livia. Then there are, besides, a
middle.aged and young woman of
smoother countenances, the latter with
small, rather pointed and pinched fea.
lures. On the hair OF one of the male
statues there are traces of color. and as
the figures are sculptured rather roughly
in stone, the style resembling that of
Capua, it is possible that the whole
figure was once covered with paint. I
forgot to say that all the tombs found
are those of freedmen.
poruad in racauo of ,valI oe tL n